Shall We Dance? (Full Screen Edition)

Shall We Dance? (Full Screen Edition) Review

Existence precedes essence. I tango, therefore I am. John Clark seeks his essential being in a life of meaning and he is unhappy that he has not yet done so. He sees Paulina at the window of Miss Mitzi's Dance School and the sadness on her face matches the sadness in his soul. He decides to join the dance. His joy and his trouble begins. Finally his authentic self emerges in his essential self as a dancer. He gets the rhythm of the tango, and becomes that self that he truly is.

Is everyone with me? We see that Paulina and John are a handsome couple, especially when they dance to the tango, Santa Maria, as she gives him "one hour" to enliven him for the dance competition. Did John plan to leave his wife for Paulina? Honor prevents that sorry pass. Besides, he knows that a husband is like a roof on the house. Everyone in the family take him for granted and does not miss him until he is gone.

And yet, Paulina and John achieve an intimacy that is not about sex even if it is rooted in their being together as a woman and a man in harmony. They relate to each other in terms of the beat. Paulina instructs John, "Don't say anything, don't think and don't move unless you feel it."

The film Shall We Dance is alive with cross currents of electricity in the human condition. See this film and then you can sing with Walt Whitman "The Body Electric." Do even better and join the dance.

Shall We Dance? (Full Screen Edition) Overview

Golden Globe winner Richard Gere (Best Actor In A Musical Or Comedy, CHICAGO, 2002; UNFAITHFUL) and Jennifer Lopez (JERSEY GIRL, MAID IN MANHATTAN) step out in a delightfully sexy comedy with a sizzling all-star cast! John Clark (Gere) is a meek workaholic who feels trapped in a dull, mind-numbing existence. But one night, his whole life changes when the sight of a beautiful dance instructor (Lopez) inspires him to break out of his mold and sign up for ballroom dancing lessons! Now, he'll have to step lightly -- and do some fancy footwork -- if he expects to keep his exciting new passion a secret from his family and friends. Also starring Academy Award(R) winner Susan Sarandon (Best Actress, DEAD MAN WALKING, 1995) and Stanley Tucci (THE TERMINAL), SHALL WE DANCE? is another acclaimed crowd-pleaser from the studio that brought you CHICAGO!

Shall We Dance? (Full Screen Edition) Specifications

Something got lost in translation from 1996's critically acclaimed Japanese comedy, but the American remake of Shall We Dance? is not without charms of its own. In being transplanted from Tokyo to Chicago, the original version's subtle humor is shaken out of its cultural context, but this is an otherwise faithful adaptation in which a weary lawyer (Richard Gere) battles his mid-life crisis with ballroom dancing lessons, while his wife (Susan Sarandon) hires a private detective to see if he's cheating. Those expecting a Jennifer Lopez showcase will be disappointed; her role as the melancholy dance instructor keeps the beautifully lovelorn J-Lo on the sidelines, while a cast of standard-issue supporting characters (especially Stanley Tucci's clandestine faux-Latin dance lover) provide a generous dose of Hollywood-ized comic relief. All of this gives Shall We Dance? a polished sheen of mainstream entertainment that many viewers---and especially ballroom dancers--will find delightfully irresistible. --Jeff Shannon